Things you didn't know about Dare

Dare was the most loyal dog in my household. He would not work for anyone but me and he always always wanted to work. He never quit. The night before he died, I worked ducks for a short while and said That'll do and started towards the gate and he just stood there. He was not done yet. I gave in and worked him for a little while longer. It was a good training session. If I went upstairs to take a nap he came with me until I got up. If I took a nap on the window seat, he laid below me on the floor. He was the only dog allowed on the window seat and he came up by invitation and sat with me a while daily. I had to lock the gate to the kitchen at night or he would get into something on the counter. If I left the cellar door open during a clinic, he would go down and steal food. Anytime I went out to the livestock without him he had a fit. Most of the time it was just easier to bring him with me. If he heard me open a gate without him, he would squeal and carry on and try to get out if it was possible. When I sent him for livestock he brought them all or he didn't come back. He could jump like a gazelle. He often jumped 3 or 4 4 ft fences to get to where I was. He always had a happy look on his face when he was working. Dare had a silly side to him. When we went out to the arena to just play, the other dogs would be racing around and he would pick up a dried turd and throw it up in the air and look at me and I would call him silly dog Dare and he would do it again and again. He hated to ride in the car but he did it for me. He did everything for me. If you left him in the pens with the livestock he would not work them on his own, he would find a way to jump out and get to me. He loved livestock but he loved me more. He could send one of the other dogs scurrying away with a sideways glance at them. He never picked a fight but he would finish it if he had to. He had many friends, but he loved Kathy and Ed the best. I chased him down the road many times when he would get scared and escape his pen. Noises scared him. He hated chainsaw, the tractor, skill saws and the pole pounder. He liked to stare at metal poles in hopes they would move and he could bite them. When I picked the garden and put the produce down until we went back to the house , he would steal cukes and run away and eat them. That he always pooped on the way to the arena right on the pathway. When I was in the yard between the house and the barn and Dare was missing , you can be sure he had jumped the fence into the control pen or into the duck arena. I would be calling and he would be staring at me behind the fence. He NEVER jumped back over, I had to go open the gate for him every time. Every night when I climb into bed, Dare jumped right up next to me for some loving before I turned off the light and then he got down for the night and the next morning he jumped up again as soon as he knew I was awake and occasionally I got some kisses. He was a stingy kisser. When I sneezed Dare would run into another room. Big brave Dare who can back a 2000lb cow down was afraid of sneezes. He hated the vacuumm and the lawnmower with a passion. Dare would always growl at me when I kissed him. I miss his growls. And they were true growls, he hated getting kissed. Occasionally when he was really happy or feeling good like in the morning, he would roo roo me. He was a very quiet dog so it was always funny and a surprise and a lovely good morning or welcome home I missed you. If I said Arrr Roo to him he would chime in and talk to me . It was fun because he was such a silent dog most of the time. If a cow didn't do what he wanted, like run in the wrong direction, he would run and joyfully barn k once as he was turning him. It was a how dare you try to go int he wrong direction you bad cow bark. It was a deep rrrrooooooff and the cow turned, but it was because he could back it up with a bite and they knew it.********************************** The most important thing about Dare was that he Loved me in spite of me.